Insect inhibitory toxin family active against hemipteran and/or lepidopteran insects

Abstract

The present invention discloses a genus of insect inhibitory proteins that exhibit properties directed to controlling Lepidopteran and/or Hemipteran crop pests, methods of using such proteins, nucleotide sequences encoding such proteins, methods of detecting and isolating such proteins, and their use in agricultural systems.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A recombinant nucleic acid molecule comprising a heterologous promoter operably linked to a polynucleotide segment encoding an insect inhibitory protein, wherein
 said insect inhibitory protein comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 80% amino acid sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:2. 
 
     
     
       2. The recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 1 , wherein said insect inhibitory protein comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 90% identity to SEQ ID NO:2. 
     
     
       3. The recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 1 , wherein said insect inhibitory protein comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 95% identity to SEQ ID NO:2. 
     
     
       4. An insect inhibitory composition comprising the recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 1 , a protein encoded by the recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 1 , or both. 
     
     
       5. The insect inhibitory composition of  claim 4 , further comprising at least one other pesticidal agent, wherein said pesticidal agent is structurally different from said insect inhibitory protein, wherein said pesticidal agent is selected from the group consisting of an insect inhibitory protein, an insect inhibitory dsRNA molecule, and an ancillary protein. 
     
     
       6. The insect inhibitory composition of  claim 5 , wherein said pesticidal agent is selected from the group consisting of a TIC807 protein, a TIC853 protein, a Cry51Aa1 protein, and a AXMI-171 protein. 
     
     
       7. A method of controlling a Lepidopteran or Hemipteran species pest, said method comprising contacting said pest with an insect inhibitory amount of the insect inhibitory protein encoded by the recombinant nucleic acid of  claim 1 . 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , wherein said Lepidopteran or Hemipteran species pest is in a crop field. 
     
     
       9. A host cell comprising the recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 1 , wherein the host cell is selected from the group consisting of a bacterial cell and a plant cell. 
     
     
       10. The host cell of  claim 9 , wherein said bacterial host cell is from a genus of bacteria selected from the group consisting of:  Bacillus, Escherichia, Salmonella, Agrobacterium, Pseudomonas , and  Rhizobium.    
     
     
       11. The host cell of  claim 9 , wherein said plant host cell is a cell of a plant selected from the group consisting of alfalfa, banana, barley, bean, broccoli, cabbage, brassica, carrot, cassava, castor, cauliflower, celery, chickpea, Chinese cabbage, coconut, coffee, corn, clover, cotton, cucumber, Douglas fir, eggplant, eucalyptus, flax, garlic, grape, hops, leek, lettuce, Loblolly pine, millet, melon, oat, olive, onion, palm, pasture grass, pea, peanut, pepper, pigeonpea, potato, poplar, pumpkin, Radiata pine, radish, rapeseed, rice, rye, safflower, sorghum, Southern pine, soybean, spinach, squash, strawberry, sugar beet, sugarcane, sunflower, sweet corn, sweet gum, sweet potato, switchgrass, tea, tobacco, tomato, triticale, turf grass, watermelon, and wheat. 
     
     
       12. The host cell of  claim 9 , wherein said plant host cell is from a plant part selected from the group consisting of a seed, a boll, a leaf, a flower, a stem, and a root. 
     
     
       13. The host cell of  claim 9 , wherein said host cell further comprises an herbicide tolerance marker. 
     
     
       14. The recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 1 , wherein the recombinant nucleic acid molecule:
 (a) further comprises a sequence that functions to express said protein in a plant; or 
 (b) is expressed in a plant cell to produce an insect inhibitory amount of said protein. 
 
     
     
       15. An insect inhibitory protein encoded by the recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 1 , wherein said protein exhibits insect inhibitory activity against a Hemipteran pest species. 
     
     
       16. The insect inhibitory protein of  claim 15 , wherein said Hemipteran species is selected from the group consisting of  L. hesperus, L. lineolaris, A. hilare, E. serous, N. viridula, M persicae, A. glycines , and  A. gossypii.    
     
     
       17. An insect inhibitory protein encoded by the recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 1 , wherein said pesticidal insect inhibitory protein exhibits insect inhibitory activity against a Lepidopteran pest species. 
     
     
       18. The insect inhibitory protein of  claim 17 , wherein said Lepidopteran species is selected from the group consisting of  H. zea, O. nubilalis, D. saccharalis, D. grandiosella, A. gemmatalis, S. frugiperda, S. exigua, A. ipsilon, T. ni, P. includens, H. virescens, P. xylostella, P. gossypiella, H. armigera, E. lignosellus , and  P. citrella.    
     
     
       19. A plant comprising a recombinant nucleic acid molecule comprising a heterologous promoter operably linked to a polynucleotide segment encoding a insect inhibitory protein, wherein
 said insect inhibitory protein comprises an amino acid sequence having at least 80% amino acid sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 2. 
 
     
     
       20. A seed from the plant of  claim 19 , wherein the seed comprises said recombinant nucleic acid molecule. 
     
     
       21. A method of producing seed comprising the recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 1 , the method comprising:
 (a) planting at least one seed that comprises the recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 1 ; 
 (b) growing at least one plant from said at least one seed; 
 (c) harvesting seed from said at least one plant, wherein said harvested seed comprises said recombinant nucleic acid molecule. 
 
     
     
       22. A plant resistant to insect infestation, wherein the cells of the plant comprise
 an insecticidally effective amount of an insect inhibitory protein comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 80% amino acid sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:2. 
 
     
     
       23. A commodity product comprising a detectable amount of the insect inhibitory protein encoded by the recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 1 . 
     
     
       24. The commodity product of  claim 23 , wherein said commodity product is selected from the group consisting of flakes, cakes, flour, meal, syrup, oil, silage, starch, and cereal. 
     
     
       25. An insect inhibitory fragment of the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 2, wherein said fragment comprises M0, M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5 motifs. 
     
     
       26. A commodity product comprising a detectable amount of the insect inhibitory polypeptide fragment of  claim 25 . 
     
     
       27. A plant comprising an insecticidally effective amount of the insect inhibitory polypeptide fragment of  claim 25 . 
     
     
       28. An insect inhibitory composition comprising a recombinant nucleic acid molecule comprising a heterologous promoter operably linked to a polynucleotide segment encoding the insect inhibitory fragment of  claim 25 .